My Forever Home

In this episode of the  brand new  season, Bathroom Design Essentials, Frances outlines core considerations to think about when renovating or creating a brand new bathroom as part of a new build. She runs through the topics that will be covered in the season along with who will benefit from tuning in to each episode.   Shownotes :   Renovating or creating a new bathroom can become quite overwhelmi...

Frances reveals many personal aspects in this podcast episode. She outlines the silver linings that occurred for her during hard lockdown in Melbourne due to  Covid  19, and the effect  it's  had on her life and her studio. A very personal story.   For those renovating or building on 2021, she outlines a myriad of free resources available to boost your knowledge over the holiday season, in prepara...

In this Forever Home Live, Frances outlines the updates to the Home Builder Scheme for renovations and new builds. The scheme has been extended into 2021, however there are some changes to eligibility and the grant reduced to $15,000. Learn more in this episode.

In this episode of the podcast, Frances runs through criteria for assessing if a spare.guest room is something you really need, or whether it's a nice to have. She provides examples of how rooms can be multi-functional – using her own home as an example. She highlights ways to incorporate having guests stay, without giving up on regularly used valuable space in the home. A very down to earth look...

In this Forever Home Live, Frances runs through different themes for decorating your Christmas tree this year, and linking it to other areas of the home. She talks about using your favourite colours, a 'nature' theme, and how you can run that theme through to your table setting too.

In this Forever Home Live Frances has come straight from site! She discusses the impact of having dining and island bench lights too close together and how less can often be more. Coming from site, so also references the impact of not deciding your floor material before the build starts, and shaver cabinets recessed into walls.

In this episode, Frances provides a summary of each episode of the Kitchen Design Essentials Season and how each episode adds another dimension to your overall kitchen design and outcome. From budgets to materials, from flatpacks to splashbacks, she outlines all episodes, providing a handy reference on what will be the episode to listen to next as part of the season.   SHOWNOTES:     1 – Episode 2...

In this episode of the podcast,  as part of the  Kitchen Design Essentials Season, Frances outlines considerations for an outdoor kitchen. She  emphasises  the need to plan it upfront as it may impact internal kitchen decisions. She runs through suitable materials, and those that are not suitable for outdoors, and options with regards to necessities for the outdoor kitchen space.   SHOWNOTES:    O...

In this episode of Your Forever Home, as part of the Kitchen Design Essentials Season, Frances walks through what needs to be considered when planning the budget for your kitchen, including items that are often forgotten. She also runs through what you can expect to be able to do at certain budget levels.    SHOWNOTES:   Determine your goals and objectives when creating your kitchen. Are you doing...

In this Forever Home Live Frances highlights the need to understand the various aspects of stairs before making a decision to have carpet, timber or concrete. The aesthetic is often the leading reason for people to choose their stair type without taking into consideration noise, budget, slip resistance and storage requirements, which are the areas Frances chats through in this episode.

In this Kitchen Design Essentials episode Frances runs through the critical element of lighting in your kitchen. She discusses the need for task, ambient and decorative lighting for different scenarios, particularly for kitchens in an open plan space. She also discusses the many different alternatives available to using downlights, and why it's important to use a combination of light sources. SHOW...

In this Forever Home Live, Frances chats about things you can do to ensure an all-white kitchen is not clinical and soulless, with a few ideas about material selections and also decorating tips to add pops of colour.

In this episode of the Kitchen Design Essentials Season, Frances chats through how to choose your colours for your kitchen – and she's certainly encouraging you to use colour – if you love it! She walks you through how to determine 'what comes first' when creating your design scheme and runs through popular combinations. Finally, she gives some great advice and tips on decorating your kitchen, and...

In this Forever Home Live, Frances chats through the importance of the orientation of your home and why a north-facing rear garden is premium. She walks through how it's the first thing she reviews when conducting a Floor Plan Sanity Check, along with the use of doors to improve flexibility, privacy, zoning, and heat retention. These are the first two key areas she reviews as part of the Sanity Ch...

In this episode of the Kitchen Design Essentials Season, Frances discusses handles, and the options available (including having no handles), along with cabinetry hardware and internals, and what options are available to improve design and functionality in your kitchen.   SHOWNOTES: Handles and hardware add the perfect finishing touch to your kitchen. They can absolutely make your kitchen, or they...

Following on from last week's episode on Appliances Part 1, Rob Sinclair, of E&S Trading and Frances continue their discussion on key kitchen appliances. This episode focuses on Stove Tops and Rangehoods, plus other appliances to consider. As ever, Rob shares his incredible knowledge and practical advice about buying criteria for these appliances. SHOWNOTES: Stove tops Buying Criteria Control- Any...

In this episode of the Kitchen Design Essentials Season, Frances has guest Rob Sinclair, Managing Director of E&S Trading on the show to discuss buying criteria and performance for kitchen appliances. This episode focuses on Fridges,  Dishwashers and Ovens and Rob's passion for appliances and buying with performance in mind, is wonderful to listen to. Join Frances as she chats with Rob and hears h...

In this Forever Home Live, Frances chats about how to determine the functionality required in your kitchen and determine what you actually need. She outlines how this will enable you to assess your kitchen design with your requirements in mind, rather than just aesthetics. She walks through the Clear Clarity Design Worksheet (a resource provided in the Beautiful Kitchen Design Course) and how thes...

There's so much more to Kitchen Taps and Sinks than you may think. In this episode, Frances and her podcast guest Trisha Narde from Reece discuss kitchen taps and sinks and what to look for in each. What makes a good quality tap and sink? What material composition should you look for in standard sinks and taps, but also in black? Not all black is the same! They also chat about Billi and Zip taps a...

In this Forever Home Live Frances provides a Top Tip when designing your kitchen, relating to the selection of appliances. She also provides an overview of the brand new Beautiful Kitchen Design Made Easy course, outlining some of the key resources available in it to provide confidence, knowledge, and empowerment to design a kitchen, for those who complete the course.

In this Episode of the podcast, Frances discusses the key differences between Butler's Pantries, Walk in Pantries, Pull-out Pantries, Appliance Cupboards, Cupboard Pantries and Step in Pantries. She also walks through the key components of a well-designed walk in pantry, and discusses some key questions relating to pantries – doors, cabinetry fronts, sinks and windows. SHOWNOTES: A walk-in pantry...

Frances is not a fan of TVs being the focal point in a room. In this Forever Home Live, she walks through different options for TV placement, and how they do not necessarily have to be wall-mounted and centered on the wall. She discusses how to balance the TV with other items in the room so it's not all about the TV! Finally, she talks about TVs above a fire and why this is not ideal.

In this episode Frances outlines the essential measurements to ensure your kitchen is functional and workable. She discusses the kitchen triangle and the theory behind how this works in your kitchen, cabinetry size standards, appliances, splashbacks and also some of the regulations to check.   SHOWNOTES Kitchen Triangle You need to be able to access things easily and move between key areas for foo...

In this Forever Home Live Frances discusses ceiling heights and why you would opt for an optimal ceiling height of 2.7m at a minimum and why the investment is worth it. As you Forever Home, Frances is a strong believer in getting your building structure right, and ceiling height is one of those core foundations.

Frances is pretty passionate about internal elevations making or breaking the outcome of your home, which is definitely apparent in this episode of the podcast. She outlines what internal elevations are, what advantages they provide, and further, what can go wrong if you don't have proper internal elevations for your kitchen. Without them, it's like asking your builder to navigate without a map! I...